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Currently the most popular game on Facebook, Zynga's FarmVille lets you grow crops and raise animals on a virtual farm. You'll start off with a small plot of land that you can use to grow into rows of fruit trees or fields of veggies, or even add animated farm animals that can roam about freely or within the confines of their pens.
FarmVille is free to play, with the option of spending real-world cash on special items (more on this later). You'll begin the game with some "farm coins" to start plowing your land and planting a small crop to start with. Certain activities like plowing and planting can cost a few coins, which you can earn back by selling what you've grown. You have to keep an eye on your crops, though, because if left too long they'll wither and die, and will not only become worthless, but will cost you a few coins to have them removed. As you earn more coins, you'll be able to invest in more seeds, or purchase animals like cows.
Typically, players have to click on individual plots to land to harvest the crops there. Those who want a little help can invest in machinery such as the Harvester, Plow and Seeder, which automate the process but require fuel to operate.
FarmVille is updated at least once per week with new features based largely on community feedback. One relatively new feature is that of animated animals that you can allow to roam around the farm. Many of the newer animals can only be sent or received as gifts to or from other players depending on the player's level of experience. These include horses, pigs, ducks, goats, and even baby elephants! There are also adoptable animals that may wander onto a neighbor's farm.
Experience can be gained from purchasing and building items like fences, grain silos, windmills and barns on your land. The higher your experience level is, the better items you can purchase and give away as gifts. Items can be bought and sold through a market.
The goal of FarmVille is to earn enough coins to create a profitable farm on your plot of land, and performing extra chores for your friends. Players can customize the look of their farms by building a variety of buildings, planting flower gardens, and collecting special decorations. For example, there are collectable animal shaped topiaries that can be purchased with farm coins, but others such as the horse and bunny topiary can only be gifted to someone.
For people who don't want to waste time waiting for the crop to grow, farm coins can be purchased with real-world cash using a PayPal account or credit card. The cost is currently 7,500 coins or 25 farm cash for $5; 15,800 coins or 55 farm cash for $10; 33,300 coins or 115 farm cash for $20; or 70,600 coins or 240 farm cash for $40. Players can also earn free farm cash or coins by taking part in special offers or questionnaires.
Some specialty items can only be purchased through these micro-transactions. Zynga recently introduced a special kind of sweet potato as part of the Sweet Seeds for Haiti charity. The sweet potatoes can only be purchased with farm cash, and for every player who donates 25 farm cash to purchase the potatoes, Zynga will donate 50 percent to the organization
There are several different types of crops you can grow; some even donate to charities just by planting them on your virtual farm such as the new sweet potato seeds which does require Farm cash which can be purchased. The sweet potatoes are for a charity called Sweet Seeds for Haiti and those who donate 25 farm cash to purchase the potatoes Zynga will donate 50 percent of the revenue to help support sustainable and healthy meals for children and their families living in Haiti. The sweet potato item will be licensed to the user and will never wither or die.
Aside from looking adorable, one of the most enjoyable things about FarmVille is that it's so easy to see the results of your labors. And unlike some other browser-based games, you don't have to refresh the screen a lot to progress. So sign up for a Facebook account if you haven't already, add FarmVille, find an old recording of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" to play in the background, and dive right in.
Click here to play FarmVille. (You must have a free Facebook account to play.)
